No one was and maybe still is held in lower esteem by Boston fans than Lackey, but Abraham and his interview subjects paint a picture of a misunderstood man who knows he has a lot to prove and seems to be doing the things he needs to do to prove it. Now the most important part comes: actually delivering on the field.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Lackey this year. A lot of unpopular people consider themselves “misunderstood.” A lot of seemingly bad behavior by athletes is explained by their competitive nature or their focus on the game as opposed to p.r. And of course, sometimes jerks just are jerks and the spring is when they try to get fresh start with these “new man, new attitude” kind of stories.

I have no idea what to expect from the guy or if this is baloney or something real. But Lackey is now on record and he has to live up to what he’s promising in this interview.

With Odorizzi, the Twins finally have the front-end starter they’ve been seeking all winter. It’s a bargain deal as well, as the 27-year-old righty is under contract through 2019 and didn’t require the club to part with any of their top-shelf prospects in the trade. Odorizzi will be looking to stage a comeback in 2018 after a dismal performance with the Rays last year, during which he eked out a career-worst 4.14 ERA, 3.8 BB/9 and 8.0 SO/9 through 143 1/3 innings.

Palacios, 21, ranked no. 27 in the Twins’ system last season. He split his year between Single-A Cedar Rapids and High-A Fort Myers, raking a combined .296/.333/.454 with 13 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 539 plate appearances. He’s expected to continue developing at shortstop, though he’s also seen limited time at second and third base during his four-year career in the minors.